Brook Lopez

The Brooklyn Nets currently sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference and second in the Atlantic Division. Sporting a record of 45-32, they have more than doubled their win total from last year, with 5 games left after their 104-83 thrashing of the 76ers Tuesday night. In Nets' 39 years in the NBA, only five other squads have more wins than this team currently does.

Mikhail Prokhorov and the rest of Brooklyn Nets ownership fired Head Coach Avery Johnson early this morning on the heels of blowout losses to the Celtics on Christmas day and the Bucks last night. During his press conference this afternoon, General Manager Billy King said: “I just thought he [Avery Johnson] wasn’t able to get through to the players… somehow it just wasn’t translating to the players on the floor, for whatever reason.”

Tonight at 7:30 ET the Nets open up their 2012-2013 campaign at home against the Toronto Raptors. This however is no ordinary start to the season for a franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2007. As the Nets take the floor tonight it will not be in New Jersey at the Izod Center, but Brooklyn on Atlantic Avenue, home of the new 4.9 billion dollar Barclays Center.